In the first 25 seconds he describes Korean food as stinky, foul, fermented, horrifying, scary, and “a freakshow in a bowl.”

Just once I’d like to see TV treat Korean food as regular food that a normal person might want to eat. This is an extreme example, but it’s either shown to be “weird” food, or too spicy, or in need of “fusion” with something else, or made into a pizza.

The other extreme is it’s shown to be something ancient and foreign and mysterious, with a 5,000 year old reverence, usually with a mention of kings and/or princes.

It’s only when some of these 2nd generation Koreans from LA get on TV and something sneaks on the airwaves which treats Korean food as something normal and part of everyday life.

But the day will come when some white people will get on TV and state that they like kimchi, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

i think, the korean episode was okay… i mean, zimmerman says “stinky, foul, nasty” about everything he eats, but it is almost always followed by “tastes glorious”.

what i don’t like is, that some people might get the illusion that we eat bizzare stuff all the time. i mean, live octopus is not something, i eat on a daily basis. in fact, most times, there is a lot of alcohol involved.

Okay, I’m a white person. Put me on TV and I will tell the world I love eating kimchi and there’s nothing wrong with it! But, you know, kimchi is only a small fraction of the delicious food coming out of Korea! ^__^

I actually saw this episode when it aired, and to tell you the truth I liked it. For those who don’t know, the entire premise of the show is to search out the strangest foods both abroad and in the states. If it were a show simply aimed at exploring the cuisines of other countries I could see where people would get upset… but it’s not.

I saw the episode too and I liked it. I think he’s doing less of jading people against the more exotic ethnic foods and more showcasing it and showing also that there’s nothing wrong with it and that a person should keep an open mind. Besides, he’s done Bizarre Food Minnesota, Los Angeles (CA), Alaska, New York City, Hawaii, Maine, and Texas, so it’s not just other countries. I was really happy he’d done a show in Korea.

Soko2usa said: I think he’s doing less of jading people against the more exotic ethnic foods and more showcasing it and showing also that there’s nothing wrong with it and that a person should keep an open mind.

If that were true, then why did he say within the opening 25 seconds that Korean food is ‘stinky, foul, fermented, horrifying, scary, and “a freakshow in a bowl.” This does not encourage open mindedness. In fact, it will further perpetuate that Korean food is full of weird foods that no one in the West would want to taste (unless you are an egotistical American male).

I find his words offensive. Sure, there’s food that people in the Western world are going to find weird, however, there are a lot of foods in Korea that are delicious and habit forming and, personally speaking, I will look towards Maangchi for my inspiration, NOT Andrew Zimmern.

I admit I didn’t watch the whole thing. There might be some kind of warm message to be gleaned from the episode but the intro put me off, and so did that guy mugging for the camera. I have better things to do, quite frankly!

ZenKimchi seems to be setting themselves up as a Korean food fixer for western media, which is great for them, but they’re hardly a disinterested voice in the discussion. Of course they will defend the show. But it would be more interesting if they didn’t.

Like Korea4me says, there’s a lot of great food coming out of Korea. I think shows like this are actually underestimating their audience. I think a lot of people are ready to eat – and cook! – things that are “bizarre,” but current western TV still thinks that this food has to be wrapped up in a Fear Factor wrapper for anyone to watch a show about it.

People are ready! It’s TV that has fallen behind. When Julia Child started her show, people were also ready for a change. And she led with respect, skill, grace and charm. She didn’t dig in to the escargot and mug for the camera about how slimy it was.

well… not to defending zimmerman in person… but come on… it is a tv-trailer to make people interested in the bizarre food he’s going to eat. it is “bizarre” food, and people who watch that show don’t want to hear “this food is delicious and absolutely not weird at all” in a trailer.

it is bizarre food after all, and it is clearly not the purpose of the show to show the people what kind of lovely food there is in korea, and andrew zimmerman is clearly not the person to advocate korean food in the world. maangchi is of course a much better person for that job.

btw: i thought, zimmermans food wasn’t that bizarre. i had much worse to eat and to drink and I’m pretty sure, some things weren’t even meant to eat, but just to see, if i would eat or drink it.

“Soko2usa said: I think he’s doing less of jading people against the more exotic ethnic foods and more showcasing it and showing also that there’s nothing wrong with it and that a person should keep an open mind.

If that were true, then why did he say within the opening 25 seconds that Korean food is ‘stinky, foul, fermented, horrifying, scary, and “a freakshow in a bowl.” This does not encourage open mindedness. In fact, it will further perpetuate that Korean food is full of weird foods that no one in the West would want to taste (unless you are an egotistical American male).”

He opens all his shows with words to that effect. I respect your opinion and agree to disagree on some of your points.

There’s great food coming out of everywhere nowadays, and just as much odd and strange stuff. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s nice to see some of the more exotic stuff showcased somewhere. Maybe Zimmern’s show isn’t ideal, but it’s something.

Okay, I’m happy to agree to disagree with those who like Andrew Zimmern and his type of presentation. No surprises that I wont be rushing to You Tube or my television to see more of his programmes (yes, I live in the UK and I think his show is on over here on satellite TV).

I’m with stanford on this one. And Britain has been going through a change for some time, too (so, no, I don’t eat fish and chips, mushy peas and pies!). Asian food is very welcomed over here but Korean food is still a mystery especially in Scotland. Maybe I can do something about that! ^}__^